General Aviation Aircraft/Fuel System Configuration Study Regarding Fuel Bladder Cell Installation

The general aviation community, acting through an informal organization known as the General Aviation Safety Panel (GASP), has sought to develop meaningful recommendations in the area of crashworthiness as it applies to post-crash fires. In support of the GASP efforts the potential fuel volume reduction and weight penalties that might be incurred should crash resistant fuel systems be installed in general aviation fixed-wing aircraft were quantified. A wide range of aircraft sizes and configurations were evaluated and relationships were developed between various aircraft/fuel system parameters to estimate the potential impact that installation of fuel bladder cells might have on aircraft design.